Nobel Laureate and micro credit pioneer Muhammad Yunus says he’s worried about a government takeover of the Grameen Bank he founded 30 years ago, and concerned its future might be “endangered.”

“As our good friend Professor Yunus calls upon his fellow citizens to support Grameen Bank from a potential Bangladesh government take-over, he, Grameen’s borrower-owners, and their fellow citizen-champions should know that the Skoll Foundation is with them every step of the way,” says Skoll Foundation CEO Sally Osberg.

In a statement, the 71-year-old Nobel peace prize winner — who spoke at the 2007 Skoll World Forum, above — expressed fears that the bank would be taken over by the Bangladesh government though it “runs with its own funds without borrowing any money from the government or from any donor agency.”

“I believe without doubt that Grameen Bank’s future will be endangered if the government raises its role in the bank by changing its legal structure,” Yunus said.

The statement came as a government commission began reviewing the bank’s future. Yunus resigned from the Grameen Bank last year after a dispute with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government.